It's one and done for Bruins, Gill

Hal Gill filed for arbitration to buy more time to finalize a contract. Turns out, he needed less than a week.

Gill, a defenseman heading into his eighth season with Boston, agreed yesterday on a one-year contract with the Bruins. By signing the deal, Gill and the Bruins will avoid an arbitration hearing scheduled for Aug. 14.

"It's always good to [not to go to arbitration]," Bruins general manger Mike O'Connell said. "We knew we were close."

"Basically, all we needed was time to sit and work something out," said Mark Witkin, Gill's agent. "It's best to avoid [arbitration]. Sometimes, you just file to buy more time. We expected this all along. It went well."

While O'Connell sewed up one player who had filed for arbitration, the contracts of Sergei Gonchar and captain Joe Thornton, both of whom also filed, remain unsettled. O'Connell said he has not spoken with the pair since they filed, but last week had said he plans on renewing negotiations before the arbitration hearings begin.

Gill's signing comes one day after left wing Sergei Samsonov signed a year qualifying offer for $3.65 million. Samsonov was the only arbitration-eligible Bruin who did not file.

Gill, a 6-foot-7-inch, 250-pounder who made $2 million last season, also had the option of signing a one-year qualifying offer matching last season's salary, but instead opted to negotiate for his new deal while testing the arbitration waters.

Last season, the 29-year-old Gill scored two goals had seven assists, averaging 18 minutes 24 seconds of ice time with a plus-16 rating. In Gill's seven seasons, he has missed just 14 games to injury and scored 19 goals.

"It gives us some stability," O'Connell said. "He takes a lot of ice away, and he's been solid for us for a while."

And now, he'll be with Boston for at least one more season, something that suits him just fine.

"He loves playing here," Witkin said. "He just wants to play. He enjoys it in Boston."